Coming this year in our Youth Ministry ...

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Cardboard City: homelessness awareness project

This weekend (Saturday, March 13th at 4pm to Sunday, March 14th at 8am) will be our "Cardboard City" sleep-out to bring awareness to the issues homeless people face. We are hoping Youth Groups from other religious communities will participate with us, but have only heard back one "maybe" through my adult channels. If anyone has a friend from another congregation, please contact them and invite them to come with you. I have the overnight permission slip that all of you need to have signed and the one program registration form for your friend to also have filled out.

The plan:
We will host (and hope other Youth Groups will too) a Cardboard City Homelessness Awareness Overnight. Starting at 4pm on Saturday, March 13th, we will gather together to simulate what it feels like to be homeless. To participate, each youth will bring $5, 3 or more donations to the Food Pantry (see list below of priority needed items), and a cardboard box big enough to sleep in. Using their money, youth will have to make choices. No food will be provided during this experience (although emergency food will be available for safety needs). Youth will decide how to spend their limited money. 1. They can use all $5 to walk into town and buy food for the overnight. 2. They can use $2 for special permission to use a sleeping bag in their cardboard box and $3 to go into town to buy food for the overnight. 3. They can donate the entire $5 to Horizons for Homeless and go the entire overnight with no food and only a box to sleep in. (Youth that do this will get a special button signifying their effort.) The goal of this project is to sample a small experience of what it must feel like to be homeless, but we must err on the side of safety too. So dress warm enough to not get sick or hurt while sleeping outside during the still cold season of winter. And indoor spaces will be available to anyone who can’t stay outside the full time for whatever reason. After the sleepover, we will gather together at 7:30am to talk about our experiences. The event will end by 8am on Sunday so that youth who worship on Sundays can go home, shower, and eat in time to do so. The more youth that join us, the more powerful and unforgettable message we can together send to our local community! So invite your friends!!

No rain date, so come prepared:
The LAST thing I personally want to do is be outside in the heavy cold rain that is expected this weekend, but am honoring my words by not postponing this since homeless people don't get snow and rain dates. The real elements makes for a even more meaningful lesson on homelessness. So remember to dress weather appropriate and to bring umbrellas for the walk, and plastic with their cardboard boxes. If needed, we will simulate what homeless people do in such cases by sleeping in the carriage houses in our boxes to protect us somewhat from the elements as homeless people do find bridges and tunnels to sleep under when the bad weather hits.

What you need to bring:
1. $5
2. (more money if you want to donate to Horizons for Homeless)
3. a cardboard box big enough to sleep in (no, they aren't easy to find ... get resourceful like homeless people have to do)
4. (and an extra cardboard box if you have an extra incase someone else couldn't get one)
5. a sleeping bag if you plan to use one in your box
6. very warm clothes, plus rain gear and plastic if it's raining (be safe! people who are homeless do dress warm to protect themselves against the elements. It's often their ONLY protection.)
7. Donations to the Sudbury Food Pantry. They most need ...
baby wipes
dry baby food (not jars)
cans of fruit
bar soap
paper towels
plastic sandwich bags
(bring supplies in a double paper bag)
8. Permission slip * (everyONE needs this as it is an overnight and doesn't fall under the generic "field trip" permission slip some of your parents signed)
9. a friend from another faith tradition with their permission slip and one time registration forms signed

See you Saturday at 4pm ready for an unforgetable adventure!

Planning for Youth Sunday

Tuesday, March 16th from 7pm to 8:30pm, our Coming-of-Age and Youth Groups will be meeting to plan for our annual Youth Sunday.

Helping at Renewal House

Saturday, March 20 at noon to 4pm: Help at Renewal House. Join us as we travel to Renewal House (a shelter for women and children supported by the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry) to help lead a sing-a-long and possibly other activities at a party for their residents and former residents.

Sunday, March 21 at 10am: Youth Sunday worship service
Join us as our youth lead the entire First Parish community in worship.

Sunday, March 28th from 7 to 9pm: Fun Game Night

Sunday, April 4: No Youth Group ~ Happy Easter!!

Sunday, April 11 from 7 to 9pm: Icons, Altars, and What do We believe?
With the Coming-of-Age service happening next month, we will all take some time to consider and explore what we believe. We will explore some famous leaders and symbols that are so important to some people that they are held up as an icon or placed on an altar. This exploration is the beginning of our own journey to considering what is most important to us and what we believe. How have our beliefs changed or evolved over the last year? or last ten years? How might we imagine our beliefs changing as we get older? We will make spiritual timelines or life story art work.

Sunday, April 18 from Noon to 4pm: Thrift store shopping adventure and lunch out!

Sunday, April 25 from 7 to 9pm: Earth Day party ~ Invite other Senior High Youth Groups
We will join with other UU youth to celebrate the fun of recycling our clothes and other stuff.

Sunday, May 2 from noon to 2pm: Youth Group celebration of our Coming-of-Agers! Lunch and party!!

Sunday, May 9 from 7 to 9pm: Movie or Game night

Sunday, May 16 from 7 to 9pm: Prayer Flags and Social Justice Banners
We will explore what is important to us individually and collectively as we make our own prayer flags and Social Justice banners.

Sunday, May 23 from 6:45 to 9pm: Intergenerational Movie Screening of “Philadelphia” cosponsored with Welcoming Congregation. Join us to watch “Philadelphia”, the Oscar winning film starring Tom Hanks as the gay lawyer Andrew Beckett who is unjustly fired by his firm because he has AIDS. Denzel Washington is another lawyer who reluctantly takes Beckett's case and learns to overcome his misconceptions about the disease, about those who contract it, and about gay people in general. This movie is PG-13 for heavy content, so youth under 13 will need explicit parental approval to attend.

Saturday, May 29: daytime field trip with Junior Youth Group ~ Activity TBD

Sunday, May 30 from 6:45 to 9pm: Intergenerational Movie Screening of “Boys Don’t Cry” cosponsored with Welcoming Congregation. When Brandon Teena, a young man with an infectious, aw-shucks grin and an angelic face that's all angles, wanders into Falls City, Nebraska, and befriends enough people to form something of a small family. In fact, it's the best time Brandon's ever had. However, there are shadows looming over Brandon's life and a speeding ticket that could prove to be his undoing. Why? Because as it turns out, Brandon Teena is actually Teena Brandon, a woman masquerading as a man. This fascinating story was based on real-life events that occurred in 1993 and ended in tragedy: Brandon's rape and murder by two of his supposed friends. Despite this horrible outcome, Brandon's story becomes not oppressive or preachy, but rather oddly and touchingly transcendent when he meets Lana, a soul mate who wants to transcend boundaries and fated identities as much as he does. The last part of the film, when Brandon's true identity is discovered, is truly painful to watch, but in between the agony there are touching moments of sweetness between Brandon and Lana, who wrestles with the truth of who Brandon actually is. You'll come away from Boys Don't Cry with affection and respect for Brandon, not pity. This movie is rated R for very heavy content, so youth under 17 will need explicit parental approval to attend.

Friday afternoon, June 4 to Sunday morning, June 6: Camping trip, CON, or visit to another UU congregation

Saturday, June 12 during the day: Intergenerational group to participate in Boston Pride Parade – 40th anniversary celebration of pride

Sunday, June 13 Time to be determined: Closing Party and Celebration
We will gather with the Junior Youth Group, give thanks for another great year, and then share a fun celebration to end on a high note.

(Note: no youth group meetings during the Sunday night regular time if another Youth Ministry event happened that same weekend so to encourage youth to attend the event.)

Junior High Youth Group Schedule for the rest of the year:

Sunday, February 7 from noon till 4:30: Lunch and Ice skating. We will meet to go out for a pizza lunch and then go ice skating together. (We can get take-out lunch for anyone staying for Morris Dancing and pick you up on our way to skating.) Please bring $5 for admission to ice skating, $5 for skate rental if you need it, and enough to cover getting what you want for lunch at Papa Gino’s. If money is a hardship for you, quietly let me know and I can get scholarship money to privately cover your costs.

Sunday, February 28 from 1:30pm (after Morris Dancing) to 5:30pm: Trip to the Science Museum for a visit to the exhibit halls and a viewing of the Omni film, Antarctica. Ever wonder what it would be like to live on the coldest, driest, windiest continent in the world? Join sea animals, penguins, and scientists for a glimpse of the most remote place on Earth. Please bring $9 for the cost of the Omni film and eat before you come. I will try to get member cards and passes to cover the entrance to the exhibit halls. (I already have a membership that covers 5 of us to get in … let me know if you have a membership and/or passes.) If money is a hardship for you, quietly let me know and I can get scholarship money to privately cover your costs.

Sunday, March 21 from 1:30pm (after Morris Dancing) to 4:30pm: Lunch and movie. We will invite other Junior High Youth Groups to join us for a pizza lunch and movie screening of “The Simpsons Movie”.

Sunday, April 18 from 5 to 7pm: Earth Day party ~ Invite other Junior High Youth Groups
We will join with other UU youth to celebrate the fun of recycling our clothes and other stuff.

Saturday, May 29: daytime field trip with Senior Youth Group ~ Activity TBD

Saturday, June 12 during the day: Intergenerational group to participate in Boston Pride Parade – 40th anniversary celebration of pride

Sunday, June 13 Time to be determined: Closing Party and Celebration
We will gather with the Senior Youth Group, give thanks for another great year, and then share a fun celebration to end on a high note.

      Have A*´¨)
           ¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
          (¸.·´ (¸.·´ * Great Day!!

“Youth Ministry”

All youth in 7th grade and up are invited to participate in our Youth Ministry. The activities and meeting times are determined by the interests of the group and range from meeting other UU youth to inspiring community service projects. We will have one group for senior high youth and one for junior, but will work together for some special projects. Our Youth Ministry programming includes growth opportunities in the areas of worship, youth-adult relations, connection, social action, learning, and leadership. Our youth always have lots of fun together while leading our community in being “principle activators” by putting our UU values into action.

"Coming-of-Age Program"

In addition to our Youth Ministry activities, our 9th graders also participate in the Coming-of-Age program. A highly regarded program is the Unitarian Universalist tradition for recognizing our teenage youth as they are becoming adults. The goal for this program is for the youth to explore and define their self-identity as UUs. This includes but is not limited to actively participating in discussions about deep theological questions; developing a close relationship with a First Parish mentor; exploration of their own deepening spirituality; exploration of social injustice and involvement in Social Action work; and involvement in meaningful "community" worship. A program highlight is the presentation of personal credos during the Coming-of-Age worship service in the Spring.
See schedule for our Coming Of Age Program

“Breakfast Club”

This "sunday morning" small group offers our 12 to 14-year-olds more autonomy as they begin carrying our UU principles into the world with deeper theological explorations, unique activities, and inspiring community service projects. Our youth will focus this year on exploring each of the six UU sources as they engage in art projects and go on “neighboring faiths” visits that will inspire their own UU faith.
See schedule for our Breakfast Club

STOP

Our 7th and 8th grade youth will also be invited to participate during the winter season in an incredible community program called STOP, Students Together Opposing Prejudice. This interfaith program honors coming together, learning about the other religions in our area, and recognizing prejudice and doing what we can to stop it. First Parish of Sudbury enthusiastically supports this program and encourages all of our youth to participate. This program will be on Wednesday evenings this winter.

Morris Dancing

Morris Dancing All youth in grades 5 and up are invited to participate in Morris Dancing on Sunday afternoons. Tom Kruskal has been leading Hop Brook Morris since 1990 here at First Parish of Sudbury . They perform ritual dances from England at festivals and events around the Boston area. There are many adult groups performing these dances, but they are one of the few kid's teams. Morris dancing comes from the Cotswold region of England and is a springtime ritual dance done in the small agricultural villages around Cambridge and Oxford. The bells, sticks, and colorful costumes combine with the vigorous dancing to wake the earth and drive away the evil spirits of winter and guarantee a good crop that summer. These dances are hundreds of years old and were passed down through the generations to us today.

Revision 57. Last edited Wed 10 Mar 2010 11:16pm by RobertaAltamari